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Centre seeks time to clear stand on Punjab and Haryana HC’s holistic development plan
Earlier, UT had told the court that a draft report on the underground parking project in the capitol complex and holistic development of the Punjab and Haryana high court complex have been prepared and sent to the Centre
The central government has sought time to clear its stand on the holistic development plan of the Punjab and Haryana high court complex for creating more infrastructure to deal with burgeoning pressure.
The additional solicitor general Satya Pal Jain told the high court that Centre would take an immediate decision for obtaining a Heritage Impact Assessment report (HIA) from another independent agency. He prays for time to seek instructions in the matter and inform this court about the agency from which such a report would be obtained in respect of the holistic development plan for multi-level underground parking project, the order of high court proceedings quotes him further stating that further, changes, if any, required to be incorporated while keeping the heritage part of construction intact.
Earlier, UT had told the court that a draft HIA report on the underground parking project in the capitol complex and holistic development of the high court complex have been prepared and sent to the Centre.
UT has no objection to the holistic development plan for multilevel underground parking provided it is cleared by the Centre, the court was told.
Heritage protection vs expansion needs
The HIA report prepared is inclined towards heritage protection over expansion needs of the high court. The changes suggested in the plan may impact the heritage status, the report underlines.
The issue has been brought before the court by Punjab and Haryana High Court Employees Association secretary Vinod Dhatterwal, seeking implementation of the plan, which envisaged setting up of multi-storey buildings to cater to the requirement of additional space.
Around 10,000 cars and thousands of two-wheelers come to the high court daily as there are 10,000 lawyers, over 3,300 court employees and a large number of litigants visit the court on a daily basis.
“From the security and emergency perspective, even a small incident can lead to a rampage, resulting in unimagined loss,” the plea said seeking court’s attention and demands that holistic development plan be implemented forthwith. The matter stands adjourned for July 21 now.
